春
spring (season)
chūn
What does 春 mean?
春 (chūn) means 'spring' — the season between winter and summer when plants come back to life and the weather warms up. In modern spoken Chinese, the season is almost always called 春天 (chūntiān, 'spring time') or 春季 (chūnjì, 'spring season'). 春 alone is mostly used in compounds (春节 Spring Festival, 春风 spring breeze, 青春 youth, 春运 the Spring Festival travel rush) and in literary or poetic contexts.
Two cultural notes for English speakers: first, 春节 (Chūnjié) — Spring Festival / Chinese New Year — is the most important holiday of the year, even though it falls in late January or February when it still feels like winter. Second, 春 carries strong cultural associations with youth, renewal, and romance — 青春 (qīngchūn) literally means 'green spring' and refers to youth, and 春 can even euphemistically suggest romantic feeling.
Note: 春 alone is slightly literary or used in compounds; in everyday spoken Chinese, the season is more often called 春天 (chūntiān).
Character breakdown
spring (season); youth; vitality
Memory hook: 春 contains 日 (sun) at the bottom — the sun returning is what makes spring spring.
Measure word for 春
Example sentences
春天来了，花都开了。
Chūntiān lái le, huā dōu kāi le.
Spring is here, and the flowers have all bloomed.
neutral
我最喜欢春天的天气。
Wǒ zuì xǐhuan chūntiān de tiānqì.
I love spring weather the most.
spoken
春节是中国最重要的节日。
Chūnjié shì Zhōngguó zuì zhòngyào de jiérì.
Spring Festival is China's most important holiday.
neutral
北京的春天有时候会有沙尘。
Běijīng de chūntiān yǒu shíhou huì yǒu shāchén.
Beijing's spring sometimes has sandstorms.
written
Common phrases with 春
Synonyms
春天 is the everyday spoken word for the season. Use 春天 in conversation. 春 alone appears mostly in compounds and literary contexts.
春季 is the more formal / written word, common in reports, schedules, and product seasons (春季新品 'spring new arrivals'). 春 alone is shorter and more literary.
Don't confuse 春 with
春天 is the everyday noun for the season ('spring' as in 'I love spring'). 春 by itself is rarely used as a standalone sentence noun in spoken Chinese — it lives in compounds.
春节 specifically means the Spring Festival / Chinese New Year holiday. 春 means the season in general. Don't say 我喜欢春节 when you mean 'I like spring' — say 我喜欢春天.